This invention relates to a pharmaceutically active composition from Tanacetum parthenium containing the sesquiterpene lactone parthenolide and parthenolide-like compounds as ingredients which predominate in terms of amount. The invention further relates to a process for extracting a pharmaceutically active composition from finely milled Tanacetum parthenium and to a medicament prepared with the resulting pharmaceutically active composition.
For the preparation of an extract from the comminuted plant Tanacetum parthenium EP 0 098 041 A1 describes the extraction of sesquiterpene lactone with an oil from the plant. The sesquiterpene lactone is obtained from the plant in general using a non-polar organic solvent, and light petroleum, hexane or chloroform are suitable. It is possible in this connection after the extraction with a first non-polar solvent, to evaporate the first solvent and subsequently to chromatograph the extract with a second non-polar solvent as at least the first eluent.
An article "The Active Principle In Feverfew" in The Lancet of Nov. 7, 1981, page 1054, discloses the preparation of an extract from the dried plant with light petroleum. A subsequent chromatography can be carried out with benzene as a polar eluent. Biochemical Systematics and Ecology, 1977, pages 207 to 218, describes the extraction of sesquiterpene lactones from Tanacetum parthenium with chloroform, that is to say with an a polar extraction agent.
It is furthermore known to carry out an extraction with a phosphate buffer solution.
It has been found that the known extraction processes produce a relatively low yield. Furthermore, the extracted sesquiterpene lactones from Tanacetum parthenium prove to be relatively unstable.